Laufkäfer (Carabidae) in der Petite Camargue Alsacienne (PCA/Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin, Frankreich): Ausgangslage zur Erfolgskontrolle der Renaturierung der Oberen Au

Im Jahr 2003 sind in der Petite Camargue Alsacienne (Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin,Frankreich) entlang einem Transsekt durch die Obere Au in 4 Biotopen (Maisfeld, Schilf, Ried, Weide) mit Bodenfallen über 7000 Laufkäfer gefangen und dabei 67 Arten bestimmt worden. Darunter konnten 4 Rote-Liste-Arten und eine neue Art Cylindera germanica (Deutscher Sandlaufkäfer)für die PCA nachgewiesen werden. Die verschiedenen Arten wurden in Bezug auf ihre Biotoptyp-Präferenzen analysiert. Die Verteilung auf die Biotope zeigt die höchste Artenzahl mit hoher Individuendichte im Ried mit Ruderalvegetation und in der Weide. Im Schilf finden sich 10 exklusive auf diesen Biotop spezialisierte Sumpfarten. Das Maisfeld zeigt noch das Bild, wie es vor 1–3 Jahren für die ganze bewirtschaftete Region typisch war, mit niedriger Artenvielfalt und wenigen individuenreichen Ubiquisten. Ziel der Aufnahme ist es, durch einen späteren Vergleich die Auswirkungen der Renaturierung von 2004, speziell der Vernässung zu dokumentieren, um unter anderem auch Empfehlungen für die Pflege machen zu können

Die Laufkäferfauna (Coleoptera, Carabidae) des Naturschutzgebietes „Petite Camargue Alsacienne" (Elsass, F)

River-meadow landscapes Count among the most endangered landscape elements of central Europe. The present renaturation Programme for the rivermeadow landscapes of the Petite Camargue Alsacienne (F, Alsace, Departement Haut-Rhin) involved a survey on ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carahidae) as representatives of the epigaeic soil fauna. A provisional list of carahid species found at seven survey sites in the Petite Camargue Alsacienne was compiled on the basis of the results of four ecological studies (1991-1996). The results were also analysed with regard to species occurrence, population number and structure, humidity and habitat preferences, and the ocurrence of rare and endangered species. 149 carabid s~ecies were identified in altoeether 29.952 individuals. This U accounts for <4% of all species in the Upper Alsace and 42% of all known species in the Alsace. Two species, namely Badister meridionalis and Agonum hypocrita, were discovered in the Alsace for the first time, and 14 species were newly found in the Upper Alsace. Species number and population size varied greatly from site to site (I5 to 104 species and 15.57 to 234.29 individuals per 100 trap days). This is partly attributable to differences in the number of trap days (which ranged from 448 at forest sites to 24,990 on the Grand Marais), but also in site quality. 46 hygrophilous species (accounting for 15% of total activity density), 41 wet species (12%), 34 xerophilous species (40%), and 28 euryceous species (33%) were identified. Field species numbered 88,(accounting for 82% of total activity density), thus representing the most frequent group in the Petite Camargue Alsacienne. The next group in order of frequency were the marsh species with 43 (12%), followed by forest species with 18 representatives (6%).As there is no endangered species register available for Alsatian beetles, we instead based our discussion on a comparison of the occurrence of those species listed in the Swiss Endangered Carabid Species Register (MARGGI, 1994) with the data given in the Catalogue et Atlas des Col&opteres d'Alsace(CALLO&T SCHOTT19, 93), the German Endangered Carabid Species Register(TRAUTNEetR a l., 1997), and the Register of Carabid Species Endangered in Baden-Württemberg (D) (TRAUTNE1R9,9 2). Of the 149 carabid species of the Petite Camargue Alsacienne, one, namely Acupaipus exiguus, is presumed extinct in the Swiss Endangered Carabid Species Register ; 5 species, namely Amara tibialis, Leistus terminatus, Agonum viridicupreum, Acupaipus brunnipes, and Pterostichus aterrimus, are classified as threatened with extinction, 5 species as acutely threatened, 7 species as threatened, and 7 species as potentially threatened

Harpalus (s. str.) subcylindricus DEJEAN, 1829 (Coleoptera, Carabidae) auch in der Schweiz und im Elsass (F)

Die eurosibirisch verbreitete Art Harpalus (s. str.) subcylindricus DEJAEN, 1928 wird erstmals in der Schweiz (Nordschweiz, Tessin) und im Esass (Frankreich) nachgewiesen. Sie lässt sich nur durch Genitaluntersuchung von der nächstverwandten Art Harpalus anxius (DUFTSCHMID, 1812) trennen. Eine Differenzialdiagnose wird dargestellt, die Aedoeagi sind abgebildet, und eine Verbreitungskarte dokumentiert die neuen Funde

Käfer des Naturschutzgebietes "Petite Camargue Alsacienne", Saint-Louis, Haut-Rhin, Frankreich (Carabidae, Staphylinidae, Curculionoidea) : kommentierte Artenlisten, Stand 2012.

Results of a number of ecological studies were analysed and used to compile an up-to-date species list of ground beetles as well as new species lists of rove beetle and weevil species for the Petite Camargue Alsacienne (PCA) nature reserve (Saint-Louis, Alsace, France). The lists were discussed and analysed with a view to species diversity and occurrences of the most common species as well as rare and/or endangered species. The lists of ground beetles, rove beetles, and weevils are based on eight (1991 to 2008), three( 1999, 2003 and 2008), and one (2008) survey years respectively. A total of 18 different sites representing nine habitat types were surveyed using pitfall traps in periods of between one and five years, depending on the sites. The total survey effort was 3323 trap-days for ground beetles, 1050 trap-days for rove beetles, and 98 trap-days for weevils. Since Luka et al. (1998) eleven new species of ground beetle have been confirmed at PCA, resulting in a total of 160 ground beetle species known to occur at PCA by 2011. All 176 rove beetle species as well as 50 weevil species (Curculionidae sensulato) represent new records for PCA. Three ground beeetle species, Agonum piceum (Linné, 1758), Amara littorea C. G. Thomson, 1857 and Harpalus subcylindricus Dej ean, 1829 are new records for Alsace. Seven rove beetle species, Alevonota rufotestacea (Kraatz, 1856), Atheta pervagata G. Benick, 1975, Bledius crassicollis Lacordaire, 1835, Callicerus obscurus Gravenhorst, 1802, Oxypoda brachyptera (Stephens, 1832), Oxypoda lurida Wollaston, 1857 and Quedius semiobscurus (Marsham, 1802) are also new records for Alsace; additionally, 50 weevil species are new records for Upper Alsace. All of the 50 weevil species collected had already been recorded in Alsace, however for some of the species few records had been available to date. Eight of the species recorded can be considered remarkable and add to the weevil fauna in Alsace. Of these, the following six species were caught in pitfall traps: Bagouslutulentus (Gyllenhal, 1813), Ceutorhynchus resedae (Marsham, 1802), Hylobius transversovittatus(Goeze, 1777), Mogulones abbreviatulus (Fabricius, 1792), Neophytobius quadrinodosus (Gyllenhal,1813) and Pelenomus commari (Panzer, 1794). Manual catches resulted in the capture of the two species Sitona waterhousei (Walton, 1846) and Hypera striata (Boheman, 1834). Following revitalisation and restoration activities, the PCA nature reserve, which is now under asemi-natural management regime, provides habitat for numerous endangered species. 35% of all recorded carabid species are red-listed in Switzerland (30 species) or in the German state of Baden-Württemberg (51 species). Among the weevils, 10 species (25 %) are red-listed in Germany (nationwide, Bavarian and Baden-Württemberg lists). The reserve demonstrates that, even within a densely populated and agriculturally utilised region, conserving the remnants of the former floodplain landscapes can indeed serve to maintain an extraordinary wealth of native fauna

Spinal and pelvic injuries in airborne sports: a retrospective analysis from a major Swiss trauma centre

Adrenalin-seeking airborne sports like BASE-jumping, paragliding, parachuting, delta-gliding, speedflying, and skysurfing are now firmly with us as outdoor lifestyle activities and are associated with a high frequency of severe injuries, especially to the spine

Mutational Evidence for an Internal Fusion Peptide in Flavivirus Envelope Protein E

The envelope protein E of the flavivirus tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus promotes cell entry by inducing fusion of the viral membrane with an intracellular membrane after uptake by endocytosis. This protein differs from other well-studied viral and cellular fusion proteins because of its distinct molecular architecture and apparent lack of involvement of coiled coils in the low-pH-induced structural transitions that lead to fusion. A highly conserved loop (the cd loop), which resides at the distal tip of each subunit and is mostly buried in the subunit interface of the native E homodimer at neutral pH, has been hypothesized to function as an internal fusion peptide at low pH, but this has not yet been shown experimentally. It was predicted by examination of the X-ray crystal structure of the TBE virus E protein (F. A. Rey et al., Nature 375:291–298, 1995) that mutations at a specific residue within this loop (Leu 107) would not cause the native structure to be disrupted. We therefore introduced amino acid substitutions at this position and, using recombinant subviral particles, investigated the effects of these changes on fusion and related properties. Replacement of Leu with hydrophilic amino acids strongly impaired (Thr) or abolished (Asp) fusion activity, whereas a Phe mutant still retained a significant degree of fusion activity. Liposome coflotation experiments showed that the fusion-negative Asp mutant did not form a stable interaction with membranes at low pH, although it was still capable of undergoing the structural rearrangements required for fusion. These data support the hypothesis that the cd loop may be directly involved in interactions with target membranes during fusion